EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico currency falls on 2017 budget uncertainty

Redacción de Reuters

2 MIN. DE LECTURA

MEXICO CITY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Mexico's currency weakened on Wednesday, slipping back from its strongest level in 1-1/2 weeks as investors waited for the government to deliver the 2017 budget after news of the replacement of the finance minister.

President Enrique Pena Nieto on Wednesday named Jose Antonio Meade as the country's new finance minister, replacing Luis Videgaray.

Analysts said the peso was little moved by the news, since Meade, a former finance minister, is seen by investors as a technocrat committed to reining in the country's debt.

The peso fell 0.55 percent to close at 18.374 per dollar. It was the biggest daily loss since late August when Latin American investors worried about the prospect of an imminent rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

When he unveils the budget on Thursday, Meade is expected to make deep spending cuts after ratings agency Standard & Poor's last month said it could downgrade the country's credit rating following a marked increase in debt.

Mexico's economy contracted in the second quarter for the first time in three years.

Meade assumed the position on Wednesday following criticism of Pena Nieto and Videgaray over a controversial visit by U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump to Mexico.

In Brazil, financial markets were closed due to the country's Independence Day holiday. Markets there will resume regular trading on Thursday. (Reporting by Natalie Schachar, editing by G Crosse)